The Way We Were
by itsapaigeturner
Summary: Everything between them was...perfect. But when Seth turned his back on the world, he ended up turning on the one woman who promised to love him for forever. Now they're struggling to live their separate lives while wanting nothing more then to go back to the way things used to be.
1. Perfection

**I've been trying to honor the requests to start a new story, and this idea has been circling around in my head for a long time now. So, I managed to pull this story together for you all. :) I am glad to know that there's other people out there who enjoy reading RollinsPaige as much as I do!**

**PLEASE let me know if you think that this story is worth continuing! And, yes, I'm still working on Drift. :) Thank you in advance!**

**Summary:**_ Everything between them was...perfect. But when Seth turned his back on the world, he ended up turning on the one woman who promised to love him for forever. Now they're struggling to live their separate lives while wanting nothing more then to go back to the way things used to be._

**Characters: **_Paige/Seth, Dean/Emma + others._

**Disclaimer:** _I own **NONE **of the characters that you recognize. Paige, Emma, The Shield etc. all belong to the WWE! This is pure fiction. Thank you!_

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_Perfection. It's more of a state of mind, rather than an adjective. _

_Those who are 'perfect' tend to live behind a world of sorrow and discrepancies. They don't fully grasp the concept of being...human. Their lives revolve around being the center of attention and being the one with all the answers. The thing is that they don't even realize that they're the problem._

_And those who are a problem don't usually have the answers._

_Some might say that to achieve perfection, one must oblige by the rules set up by society and enforced by the people. It's like a democracy without the voting. You don't really get a say in what goes, but you're brainwashed into thinking that you do. Sure, it's messed up. But that's why popularity isn't easily achieved. Those with brains big enough to understand that all of this perfection talk is just a bunch of crap usually aren't popular with the people. They're the outsiders looking in._

_Outsiders. Now, this is where the labeling gets tricky. There are multiple ways to categorize the outsiders in this world, but it narrows down to two simple areas. Those who spend their lives using desperate measures to get into the inner circle, and those who could care less if there really is a circle in the first place. They're more concerned with the real issues at hand. Like whether or not they're doing something useful with their time here on planet earth. _

_For some, the transitions between average and perfection will be achieved within no time at all. Hell, some are even born with the trait. They seem to be genetically engineered to posses the ability to be perfect. Others...it takes more than time. It takes the impossible._

_That's where the biggest question of them all comes in to play. Is it really worth trying to achieve perfection?_

_Or is perfection just a waste of breath..._

* * *

Everything was fine until that steel chair ripped apart Roman Reign's back. And then it hit Dean Ambrose. Multiple times. But what that steel chair did more than bruise two broads, was break the heart of the woman who was living in a fool's paradise.

Paige wasted no time in breaking down. It didn't make sense to her; not in the slightest bit.

They were so happy, her and Seth. They were mind-blowingly happy. Their lives were intertwined with one another's and everything continued to move along smoothly.

As for her feelings...she'd never felt so great about anything in her entire life. She'd always been so afraid to form more than a physical connection with anybody, so when Seth came into the picture things changed.

Dramatically.

And then it happened. He did the one thing that is seemingly more worthy of disrespect than walking out of the company in its entirety: _he sold out_.

And he didn't mention any of it to her.

_I'm such a fool. _

She tried to breathe normally, but her lungs weren't functioning correctly. Her world was collapsing on her with every second that passed and it only made it harder and harder for her to catch her breath. She continued to think of positive, uplifting thoughts about how everything would work itself out. He would explain himself. He wouldn't let this go unexplained. There was no way.

But, then again, Seth was just full of surprises.

_"Please, just tell me that you were planning on telling me," she begged._

_He stood still. "I was planning on telling you."_

_"Don't mock me!" she held back tears, but not her fists. They were already flying in his direction, only to be caught by his fast reflexes._

It was painful for her to even think back to that moment. She looked him in the eyes and told him to tell her the truth, and he stared right back and lied. Right to her face. Right to the face that he'd promised not too long ago to love forever.

Why couldn't he just keep a damn promise?

_"If you can't handle this," he paused and thought about whether or not really wanted to say it, "then get out." He made his decision._

She did. She got out, without another word. It was all too hard for her to watch him transform that easily. Almost as if he really never cared about her in the first place.

"Paige."

The raven-haired woman looked up. She hadn't realized how long she'd been daydreaming. "Emma," she muttered, sitting up straighter out of embarrassment. She was always getting caught thinking too hard. "I didn't see you come in."

"I figured," she said, snorting a laugh. "Have you decided if you were coming to dinner with us tonight?"

"Us?"

The blonde nodded. "Dean, Roman, Seth, AJ, and me." She sped through the list of names quickly, afraid that emphasizing on Seth's name would rip open the fresh wound that had yet to heal.

It _had _been nearly a month since their break-up, but considering how it ended, there was no way that she was alright.

"If you don't want to -"

"Sure," Paige choked up, slightly interrupting Emma. "I'd love to."

* * *

Regret was the least of her problems. As soon as she entered that building, and the smell of liquor and burgers travelled their way toward her, she could feel her heart grow weaker in emotion. She'd tried her best to stray away from any situation that involved running into the man who broke her heart.

She suspected that pretending he didn't exist was easier than facing the world knowing he was still out there. Probably sleeping with some random chicks every week. He was one of the biggest guys in the business at this point, so finding a replacement for Paige was probably not a problem for him.

But she was wrong. Pretending that he didn't exist only fixed the surface of her problems. The pain was deeper then skin deep.

It was her heart. And when that truly breaks, it can't be fixed.

"Boys," Emma greeted with a grin. She was usually the life of social gatherings. It didn't matter where they were, she always seemed to find a way to enjoy herself. Perhaps she was that gifted in the social department.

Definitely nothing like her counterpart, Paige.

"If it isn't my favorite Australian," Dean cooed. If anyone could hold a candle to Emma, it was Dean Ambrose. Those two were more alike than any two people that Paige, or anybody else in the WWE for that matter, had ever met. And it still surprised people that they weren't hooking up yet.

"Try the only Australian you know." Emma smiled and sat across from the man. As she folded a napkin on her lap - she gets points for manners, even if they were in a bar - she saw AJ Lee sitting diagonal from her. "It's good to have you back, AJ."

AJ's mouth curled into a sheepish grin. "It's good to be back."

"You won't be missing that husband of yours too much, will you?" Dean looked over at the brunette with flirty eyes.

Emma watched as he gave the petite woman his flirty eyes and bit her bottom lip so hard that she swore she drew blood. "Anyways," she jumped in, diverting everyone's attention, "as you can all see, I've managed to drag the Princess out of hiding."

She gestured in Paige's direction. The raven-haired diva clasped her hands together and looked down. "I haven't been hiding."

"Could've fooled me," Roman spoke up. He then glanced over at Seth, who was clearly moping in the beauty's presence. He wanted nothing more than to bring his friend back into reality, slap him across the face and tell him that all he had to do was apologize and the woman would forgive him, but he knew his place. And that wasn't it. "It's good to see you again."

They group went on about their normal routine. It used to be tradition for the six of them to get together after big shows and either celebrate or binge drink, depending on the outcomes. But, for the past month, nothing in any of their lives seemed to be the same. AJ was married, The Shield was no longer, Emma got arrested, and Paige was heartbroken. If anything, everything was completely the opposite.

By the end of the night, AJ headed back to the hotel early, and Roman followed soon after. Emma and Dean had blatantly moved their chairs closer to one another's and shoved insults down one another's throats. Paige sat there, trying her best to ignore the situation. And Seth...he continued to glance back and forth between Paige and the faces that Emma and Dean were making at each other.

"Well," Dean said as he stood up. "Since I'm done being insulted by my best friend," he teased, "I think I'm heading up."

Seth only nodded in response, which made Paige want to bash his head in that much harder. He couldn't even say something when she was around. What a stand-up guy.

"Just when I thought we were having fun," Emma whined.

"If you consider having your ass handed to you fun." Dean smiled, realizing that the blonde was now standing up, inches from his face.

"The only ass getting whipped around here is yours. And it's not even that fun to whip," she retorted, making a disgusted face to go along with it. She couldn't help herself at this point. Pushing his buttons was too much fun for her to stop.

Dean sighed and grabbed his jacket from his chair. "I guess that means we'll have to continue another time."

"I guess so."

Paige watched as Emma watched the man leave, which only aggravated her more. She'd agreed to come to this dinner so that she could check up on Seth. Truth be told, she was worried about him. He'd changed into someone that she could barely recognize, and it made her feel hopeless. She wasn't okay with the way things ended. But she wasn't about to rewrite history if it had the possibility of making things worse.

"Are you ready to head back to the hotel?" Emma asked when she turned back to face her friend. "You look exhausted."

And then, before she could answer, the one thing that she was afraid of happened.

"Actually," Seth said, "I was hoping that we could have a second alone."

Paige turned her head slowly to face her former lover. While she wasn't sure what was about to happen, she knew for a fact that she wouldn't be able to handle it.


	2. Expectations

**Thank you to: **_Milankovitch0889, vvheel, Coreys Kitten, Wolfgirl2013, flowersNfreaks, dashinginconverse, _**and**_ AmandaEchelon _**for reviewing the first chapter! I published this story at like...one in the morning, so I was exhausted from spending the whole day writing it. So, clearly I've been a little concerned with how it turned out. I'm glad to know that you all read it and liked it!**

**I hope that you all like this chapter, and if you do (or don't) please review! And, if you don't want to review, you can still show your opinions by following/adding it to your favorites' list! Thanks in advance. **

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_Expect the unexpected, they say. _

_But what do you do when you have no expectations at all?_

* * *

Paige stood there, in the middle of the back alleyway, waiting for what Seth had to say. Originally, he'd pulled her aside just to talk, but there were so many of his...'fans'...that they had to find somewhere more secluded.

And a dark alleyway in the back of the bar was their choice.

"Why did you come here tonight?" he asked, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes in her direction.

Now, even though she wasn't prepared for that question, it still shook her up. "What?"

"Why did you come here tonight? I mean, Emma had to have told you that I was going to be here. And considering the circumstances, you have to have an explanation for it."

"I don't need an explanation to be around my friends, asshole." Crossing her arms, Paige shook her head. "If you want to have a real conversation about something relevant to our situation, then give me a call." She turned to leave, but felt the urge to say something more. "You know, if you haven't replaced my number too."

She returned to the restaurant with her arms still crossed about themselves. It wasn't until she'd scanned through the building four or five times that she realized Emma had disappeared, probably back to the hotel.

_Of course. Her final day traveling with us and she leaves me to fend for myself._

The raven-haired woman reflected on her encounter with Seth and walked through the heavily crowded bar until the pressure of the people pressing against her subsided and she stepped across the threshold of the front exit. Letting out a sigh of relief, she dug her hand through her pocket and called Emma's number.

"Pick up," she muttered to herself. "Damn it, Emma. Pick up," she muttered again.

After a few seconds of ringing, the line went to voicemail and Paige came to the realization that she was only three blocks from her hotel and she had no money in her possession. She turned around at the sound of Seth's voice. He was talking to some blonde chick with her breasts practically hanging out of her shirt.

_Not your style, Rollins. _

Paige rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she watched them walk off and call a taxi. She separated her arms and covered her face with her hands so that if they turned and looked around they wouldn't see her.

But...they did.

"Paige? From the WWE?" the blonde asked. She was clearly drunk, which Paige noted carefully.

Seth glared in the raven-haired diva's direction. "It is."

"Let's go say hi! Pleeeeeaaase?"

"The cab is here!" he said after a moment of thinking. His spastic moments were always of joy to Paige, even if she found them to be undeniably adorable.

She watched as he gently shoved her into the back of the taxi so that she would stop asking about her. Part of her heart ached as he ducked under the car's door frame and he drove off with the other woman. Even though she knew that there was no way that they would spend more than the night together, but just the thought of him sharing his bed with a different woman was extremely hard for her to handle.

Once the car was down the street and out of her line of sight, Paige took a deep, calming breath. If seeing her ex-boyfriend leave a bar with an attractive woman was going to be the worst part of her day, then all she wanted was to end the day.

When Seth got the woman back to his hotel, she paused before they were able to enter the building.

"Where are we?"

Seth raised his eyebrows, looking around to see if there were any witnesses to the scene. "Excuse me?" He used his thumb to raise her chin up so that they were looking at each other. "Don't you remember me? We met at the bar?"

"Bar...?" Snorting a laugh, the blonde shook her head. "I'm not drunk!"

He cleared his throat and nodded. "Okay," he muttered, "you're clearly smashed. And, I thought this would be a lot easier."

"Easier?" She brought up a hand and connected it to his face. "I'm not some slut, you jackass!" As if she could, she pulled herself together and walked into the hotel alone.

Seth watched as she left and held a hand to his reddening cheek. He shook his head in pure confusion. How could he have messed everything up so badly? Not only were his poor decisions affecting Paige like he'd hoped - momentary, drunken choice - but it was affecting his life as well.

It was all just...hard.

"Bitch slaps hurt, don't they?"

Turning his head, Seth raised his eyebrow to a clearly angry Emma.

"And, you care because...?"

She chuckled and walked toward him, dropping her arms down to her side from their previously crossed position. "Stupid or naïve?"

His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What?"

"Stupid or naïve - which one are you?"

"Neither," he said simply without giving his answer much thought. Of course he felt stupid and naïve, but he wasn't going to admit that to Paige's closest friend. They were still walking on sharp rocks and he wasn't ready to go into another battle with his weaponry taken away.

"Liar," she retorted. "Did you honestly think that I would let you get away with telling off my best friend the way you did? And then let you walk out of there with a drunk chick wrapped around your arm?"

Biting his cheek, Seth walked toward her. "Are you trying to tell me something?"

She smirked. "I guess you're both."

"You paid that girl to flirt with me?" he asked, coming to the realization of the situation.

Crossing her arms yet again, Emma forced herself not to laugh too hard. "Like I said, you must be both."

"I'm not stupid, and I'm definitely not naïve. You just messed with me on the wrong night," he explained.

"Why - because Paige was there?" She looked at him up and down. "That has to be why, considering you were embarrassed to be around her."

"I'm not embarrassed around Paige."

Emma nodded, pretending to believe him. "Yet, you just had to fight with her in the alley, giving me plenty of time to slip a fifty into the blonde's pocket. You were too embarrassed to show up alone, so you knew that you couldn't leave alone."

He listened intently as she explained, but he was having a hard time coming to the understanding. "And, the whole thing with her freaking out over Paige when we were leaving...you set that up too?"

She shook her head and snorted a laugh. "She's better than expected, I'll give you that."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're crazy?"

Breathing in heavily and letting it out in a swift sigh, Emma gazed up at the stars above them. "Beautiful night, isn't it?" Without allowing him to respond, Emma smiled at him before brushing past him and entering the hotel.

So, Seth stood still, wrapped in so much confusion.

And, not to mention, he was alone.

* * *

"I hate him. I don't even care what his explanation is, I just hate him!"

AJ rolled her eyes at the raven-haired woman before her. "Really? Because a couple months back, you were _in love _with him."

"That was before he went all kiss-ass and screwed everything up." Paige jumped onto the bed in front of her and laid out. She was exhausted from the training she did earlier, but her mind couldn't relax. Seth was all over the place nowadays, and her thoughts would leap from loving him to hating him within seconds.

She just couldn't control herself anymore.

"Alright," AJ said softly, "you're obviously in a mood today. So, I'm going to head back to my room."

Paige sat up quickly. "No," she begged. "I promise I'll shut up about him."

Taking a moment to think, AJ considered the promise. "Okay," she agreed, "but nothing about Seth for the rest of the day."

Paige nodded and proceeded to talk about her day with the woman. The two had met when Paige had her first try-out for the company. AJ was there, practically scouting out her competition, thinking that there would be more girls than just the Brit. But, there wasn't. When Paige eventually got the job, they began training together occasionally, as AJ was beginning to have debut matches on the main roster. And when AJ made her visits to the developmental territory NXT, their friendship was cemented.

Their differences were more than their clashing skin tones. Paige came from a wrestling family and had been training for a spot as one of the best female wrestlers of all time since she was a teenager, while AJ didn't have that luxury. She spent years envying those who did, and working as hard as she could to make it to the top. After meeting her idol, Lita, she realized that wrestling was what she really wanted to do with her life.

So, in a sense, their lives went down the same path. Being carved out and created based off of their idols. Now they were sitting in front of each other, talking as if their past was just a blank page.

"How's the married life?"

AJ looked up and chuckled. "Why - are you looking into something?"

"No," she replied simply.

Nodding her head, AJ peered in the other woman's direction. "You want to rant about Seth, don't you?"

She held her breath and nodded. "He's just...impossible! I mean, first he yaps at me for hanging out with my friends. And then he leaves the bar with some drunk blonde woman who could barely keep herself on her own two feet!"

AJ knew about the plan Emma had to set Seth up with the blonde, so she had to force herself not to laugh. Emma had this in plan for awhile, actually. She'd originally planned it while Paige and Seth were still together. Truth be told, she didn't trust him from the beginning. And that feeling had brought her to the conclusion that she needed to be sure that he wasn't going to hurt her friend. They broke up before she had the chance to try it out.

Seeing him leave with the blonde was painful, Paige will admit it. She felt betrayed, honestly. But that was exactly what Emma wanted. After he hurt her the way he did, she wanted Paige to see that this was the man that she knew him as.

And he fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker.

"Did you hear me?" Paige asked, noticing that the brunette was distant.

Nodding, AJ returned from her thoughts. "I heard you." She then shook her head. "I just couldn't believe it. I mean, I knew that he had his issues - with the whole keeping everything a secret from you thing - but I never realized how messed up he was. Just...hard for me to believe."

The former Divas Champion sighed. Standing up, she pretended to brush something off of her jeans. Talking about Seth was becoming too hard for her, despite the fact that she'd tried pretty hard to bring him up.

"I'm heading back to my room," she explained and the brunette nodded. "I'll see you later?"

AJ stood up too. "Yeah," she muttered. "See you then."


	3. Deception

_Deception is the perception of being betrayed._

_And love is the best at deception._

_Always has been. Always will be._

* * *

Seth could tell that the rest of the roster was changing their minds about him. He was becoming more and more of a sadistic asshole rather than a driven employee. Turning down autograph signings and spending time alone in his dressing room...even his closest of friends didn't want anything to do with him.

"It's just one night," he pleaded.

Roman crossed his arms over his chest and looked over at the double-toned haired man. "I'm busy tonight."

Seth rolled his eyes. "You're never too busy for Dean." The larger Samoan gave him an angry look, and Seth retreated. "All I'm saying is that I feel like you're avoiding hanging out with me nowadays."

"Seth," Roman seethed, "do I have to remind you that I have a family?"

"No. You don't _have _to."

"Well, good." Grabbing his duffle bag off of the bench below him, Roman tossed it over his shoulder and headed for the exit. "See you soon."

Seth would spend the next hour-and-a-half contacting nearly everyone he'd saved in his phone's address book, asking them, nay pleading them, to spend a few hours at his side. They didn't even have to be close to one another, he just wanted someone who wanted to be in his presence.

Was that too much to ask for nowadays?

Just someone to talk to?

Once he'd gone through everyone that he wanted to spend time with, he threw his phone into his bag. He was just about to leave when the door flung open.

It was Paige.

"Oh," she said simply before throwing her hands up slightly, "I have the wrong room."

"You do," he replied.

She bit her lip, lightly nibbling on her lip ring. "I'll just be on my way then." Turning herself around, feeling more and more stupid by the second, she attempted to leave when his voice broke through the lingering silence.

"Hold up," he called out, swiftly jogging toward her. Was he really about to do this? Was he really that desperate for someone to hang out with?

Apparently so.

"I understand if you want nothing to do with me," he began. "But, if we're being honest here, I've been trying to get a hold of everyone I can think of and nobody is picking up." He looked her in the eyes and fought the urge to run up and kiss her. "Do you want to stick around? Or, go somewhere that doesn't smell like a hundred sweaty guys?"

She forced herself not to laugh at his comment. Putting on her best _I don't really want to _face, she shrugged. "Depends."

"On..."

"What it is you're after?"

He knew what she was suggesting and he was tempted to turn his answer around. "Just some of your time."

And so she did just that. It sounded innocent in context, and that's exactly how she was going to play it all out. Innocence was all that she felt necessary for a meeting with the man she used to care so deeply for.

But, if history was repetitive, perhaps a simple night alone together wasn't what they needed.

_Flashback_

_"No more for me," Paige said with a laugh. Looking away from the bartender to the counter top, back up to the man she was seated next to, she let out a harder laugh. "Stop!"_

_"Stop what?" Seth laughed as well. Something about seeing her so childish was contagiously adorable._

_"Making those faces," she said, pouting her lips. Her laughter had subsided and they were looking directly into one another's eyes._

_They weren't _dating _but they weren't _denying _that they had feelings for one another. And, they knew that what they felt was completely mutual. So mutual that everyone around them could see it, and despite their best efforts to not notice it, they could see it plain as day._

_Agreeing to go to the bar together wasn't something that she hesitated to do. Obviously there was no secret to how much she enjoyed being around Seth. To her, he was everything she was looking for and more. She'd been denied of happiness and love in the past, and she wasn't willing to give up this relationship - or whatever comes of it - for her ego._

_Eventually, they were both stumbling out of the bar and into the back alley. It was so dark that neither of them could see where they were going, and ended up falling all over each other until Seth practically had her pinned gently against the brick wall._

_"What are you doing?" she asked in a teasing voice as she felt his hand resting on her hip._

_He smiled at how close they were becoming. Physically and emotionally speaking. "I don't know."_

_"Then I'll tell you what you're doing. You're going to take me home."_

_"Home," he hummed. Taking her away from the busyness that surrounded them was a delicious thought on its own. And then you add what they would most likely be doing and the thoughts were tastier than ever._

_The raven-haired diva followed his lead and walked around the building until they were standing next to one another on the curb. They fought every cell in their body that drove them toward each other as to conceal their lust just long enough to make it back to hiding. The silence was killing them, but they kept it up like their lives were dependent on it. Like they wouldn't be the same if they said a single word._

_Because perhaps when you sit in silence with the one you care for and there's still a pounding in your chest; that's how you know it's real._

_It's how you know there's something worth staying silent for._

_Seth called for a taxi and stepped a little further out on the street. Paige was teetering on the curb and edging toward falling over, but she managed to play it off like she wasn't drunk. The small yellow vehicle pulled up on the shoulder and, like a true gentleman, Seth smoothly walked the woman and helped her duck into the backseat. Giving a quick glance over his shoulder as if he were on the run, he retired into the cab. _

_"This is very fancy," Paige teased. "You truly know how to please your women."_

_He gave a sarcastically genuine smile. "I know what a woman wants." _

_Suddenly, she shivered as she felt his hand resting on her leg. Part of her wanted to shrug him off, but something stopped her from doing so. Before things could go too far - in such a grotesque place for starters._

_"So," she said as she swiftly pulled her leg back closer to her body, allowing his hand to fall, landing with a small 'thud' as it bounced against the seat. "You do this often?"_

_"What - take a cab?"_

_She rolled her eyes in a playful manner. "Take pretty girls home."_

_"You think you're pretty?" he joked. He knew she was pretty. If anything, she was the most beautiful thing that he'd ever seen in real life. Or, ever._

_"You're crazy," she scoffed. "I was asking a serious question and you had to turn me into the self-absorbed prick."_

_"Hey, I didn't turn anybody into anything! I'm just..." he paused and looked at her. And even in the darkness of their surroundings and the lack of light in the back of the taxi, he could see her for her full beauty. She was gorgeous. She was everything he'd ever wanted, and yet he'd never even known that it was what he wanted. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. _

_It was their first kiss. Innocent and sweet - as sweet as it gets, being in the back of a public transportation vehicle - they were consumed. Consumed in the silence that was necessary for their presentation of themselves in public, they were quick to assume that they could stay like that forever._

_And then the car came to a halt. They had arrived at their destination._

_Pulling apart, they got out of the car on the same side and walked into the hotel nonchalantly. Even with the steaminess that had ensued within the walls of the vehicle, they still felt too awkward around each other to hold hands or acknowledge the other's presence. They walked without a word, one foot in front of the other. Once they got to the elevators, they stopped and stood and waited._

_As they waited, Seth gently put his hand on the woman's hip, reassuring that he was still there. And as soon as the doors slid open, they rushed inside and picked up where they left off._

_Even though Paige had thought about kissing him - let alone doing much more - she'd never actually been the type of girl to fantasize about an encounter with him. She sometimes felt so excluded when she was around the other girls on the roster because of how much they talked of other men. While she had interesting dreams about what it would feel like to be wrapped in Seth's embrace, she'd never actually sat down and tried to think of scenarios that would call for their interaction, let alone discuss her mixed emotions with another person._

_She just wasn't that kind of girl._

_But as she stood there with her body pressed against his and her arms exploring every place that she felt obliged to do, she understood why she was never really into fantasies. _

_They were never as rewarding as the reality._

Present day

That night played over and over throughout the raven-haired beauty's mind as she sat next to the man she used to call her boyfriend in the backseat of a yellow taxi. She couldn't help but remember how close they were. How much they were into one another.

And then, just like that, everything stopped.

They stopped feeling that spark that used to sting so badly every time they touched. They stopped dreading the time they spent apart and started planning breaks from one another. They stopped pursuing things that would benefit them as a couple and began to only strive for those that would benefit themselves.

"So," Seth spoke up, breaking the inevitable silence. He looked over after a second and realized that she was staring out the window, spaced out so deeply that she probably didn't even hear him.

But she did.

"Look," he spoke again, "I understand that tonight was probably a stretch and all -"

"I'm fine," she interrupted, turning and looking at him for the first time since they'd left the arena.

He nodded and looked back to the front of the car. "Good. Because, if you didn't want to come out tonight, you could've just said so."

"I would have." Tracing the outline of his jaw with her eyes, she romanced the idea of kissing him again. Shaking it out of her head as quickly as it approached, she sighed. That's the past. This is the future.

Or, is it? Seth could have asked anybody, and even though he says that he did, she knew that the fact couldn't possibly be the truth. If anything, it was probably just a lie that he was telling to get some time alone with her.

Anybody on the planet would love to spend just a few seconds in the presence of Mr. Money in the Bank himself. And anything else would be irrelevant, because there's no way that every person on his contacts list declined his offer. And there's no way that the only person who responded with an agreement happened to be his recent ex-girlfriend.

It just isn't plausible.

He nodded at her implication. "Good."

Once the cab driver stopped at a small restaurant, the two got out of the car slowly but surely. Paige walked behind Seth, careful to keep her distance and assure anyone who might see them that there was nothing to be concerned with.

They weren't back together.

Their relationship never got too big or too public. For those who knew about it, they knew that privacy was a big deal for Paige. They knew that she prided herself in sharing what she wanted to share, and her relationship with Seth wasn't on the table. Plus, the majority of the people who caught a glance of the pictures or video clips of them together just assumed that they were close friends. And considering nothing was ever confirmed nor denied, the rumors died instantly.

And then everything they had did too.

Being as polite as he could manage, Seth led the raven-haired woman to a table that was toward the back of the restaurant. He figured that she'd want some privacy if they were going to be in public. They weren't exactly on the best of terms.

"I hope this is fine," he commented on the seating arrangement.

Giving the booth-like table a quick lookover, Paige planted herself down. "It's fine."

Seth could barely read the awkward expression on her face; she was so good at pretending to care about things when she didn't. And part of his brain was hurting just linking her acting to their relationship. Had she pretended to care about him when they were together? She was that good, he'd probably never know.

"So," he said, breaking into the silence, "what do you want to talk about?"

She shrugged. "I get a choice?"

"I get it, you feel weird about this. But we're both here now, and the least you can do is act like you're having a good time."

Before she could respond, a small flash appeared in the corner of her eye. They both looked over through the window at a man standing with his phone raised, facing them.

And, of course, he was wearing a John Cena shirt.

"He's going to post that online," Paige warned, standing up and began making her way toward the front door.

Seth knew that he didn't have to, but something inside of him told him to run after her. And, so he did. He jogged after her until she came to a stop at the curb and he slowed down his pace. Once they were standing next to each other, Seth looked around but the man with the phone was gone and nobody surrounded them like normal.

"Why did you ask me to come out here?" Paige asked, looking directly out at the empty road ahead of her.

He didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. He only watched on as she turned to face him.

"Don't tell me that there was nobody in this entire world that you could've called because we both know that it would be a lie. As soon as you saw me, you just had to ask me to go with you!" Her lips were quivering and tears were stinging the back of her eyes. Their first night together continued to replay in the back of her mind and she was trying everything to fight off the urge to slap him and kiss him at the same time.

"Why were you going to see Roman?"

Taken aback by his question, Paige scrunched her face in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Roman's name was clearly printed on his locker room door, and you barged in." He looked her deeply in the eyes. "You can't tell me that you were there on accident."

"I'm allowed to have friends, Seth!"

"Not when those friends are mine too," he seethed.

She scoffed at his demands. "You don't control me. _We aren't together anymore,_" she retorted before turning on her heels and walking in the opposite direction.

He was prepared to watch her leave, but as if someone was standing inside of his body for him, he reached out and grabbed her arm swiftly, bringing her to him. Wasting no time, he wrapped his lips around hers and kissed her passionately, leaving them both at a loss for words.

Paige hesitated, but pulled away, refusing to look at him. Something about feeling their lips connect again made her feel more guilty than full of want.

"Tell me," he whispered, still looking at her. "Tell me that that kiss meant nothing to you."

And then the pressure began to build within her chest. Have you ever felt a pressure so strong that you get queasy in fear that your chest might explode? A pressure so tight that every instinct in you is telling you to breathe, but every possible external force is hiding your oxygen? As Paige was standing there, staring Seth in the face she realized that he was the one hiding her oxygen.

He was killing her.

Taking in a deep breath to calm her so she would break into tears, the brunette straightened her back and looked into his eyes.

"It meant nothing." She turned around again and walked further down the sidewalk with her arm out, signaling for a taxi. And when one pulled up, she stepped inside, giving Seth one last look with defiance before slipping away and sliding down, breaking into tears.

Of course it meant something to her. She loves him; more than anything in the entire world. But nothing was the same anymore. They were battling for dominance in their feelings for each other and they were both losing.

And she just couldn't do it anymore.

* * *

**In case the awkward pauses in my story updates didn't confirm it - yes, I did start up school again and yes it sucks. :( I really wish that I could update regularly, but considering I'm busy 5 days out of the week, I don't see that happening. OF COURSE I will continue my stories, so in case that worried you even a tad, don't fret. I'm not giving up, lol. However, expect to be waiting a little in between chapters...I really have to focus on my grades and such, but I promise to do my best to get on here whenever I can!**

**Quick info: just in the case that you didn't catch on, the little prologue-type beginnings of each chapter tie into the situation/scenes/moral/themes of every chapter. :) Plus, they inspire the title of each chapter! :)**

**Thank you for reading & I'll see you all soon! **


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